


the Wolf and the Demon

by hystericalzombie



Category: Hat Films - Fandom, The Yogscast
Genre: (not to any main characters), Angst, Burning, Fire, Gen, Kidnapping, M/M, Major character death - Freeform, Mourning, child death mention tw, choking tw, death mention, drunkeness tw, lil bit of blood, mentions of past burning accident, mentions of past violence, mild peril tw, minor death mention tw, past child abuse mentions, past child neglect mentions, so far in only one chapter, suicide attempt implication, violence tw
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-14
Updated: 2016-01-23
Packaged: 2018-03-30 14:00:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 19,447
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3939466
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hystericalzombie/pseuds/hystericalzombie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set in Kelley Armstrong’s Supernatural world. One Exhaustio half-demon deals with his ‘curse’, while a Werewolf only wants to help</p><p>------</p><p>Posted onto tumblr as well, I'll update characters, pairings and warnings as I go</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex runs, and Ross gets a call
> 
> \------
> 
> maybe mentions of schizophrenia, and also mentions of burned bodies. lovely

The first thing he’s aware of when he wakes, is the rain.

Alex Smith takes his time, letting himself return to his body, telling himself _its ok, you have time, take it slow_ , but he knows he’s lying to himself. He doesn’t have time.

The next thing he’s aware of, is that he’s lying on his side, cold concrete on his right cheek, wet rain dripping onto his left. He keeps his eyes closed.

Then he’s aware of rough brick against his back, pressing uncomfortably into the wrong places. His hands are numb with cold, no feeling.

He pushes himself up, so he is sitting upright, back to the brick wall, eyes still closed, trying to keep calm. The next thing he is aware of, is the smell of burnt meat, and ash on his tongue.

He opens his eyes.

Five bodies in a starburst pattern around him, in a variety of positions, charred black beyond identity. A voice whispers (sorry) in the back of his perception, and he sighs. He looks up into the grey sky, the falling rain, and hears sirens.

He stands and runs to the back of the alley, and slips away into the shadows.

\------

“Hello?”

“Ross! Turn on the tv! I think we have a fire guy!!”

Ross Hornby sighs at his younger cousin. “Mere, I’m not doing this anymore, you know that.”

He hears a whine from the other end, “Pleeeease Ross, I won’t ask again, I promise!!”

He sighs again. “Fine. It won’t be anything, you know that?” He grabs the remote and switches to the news channel. “Oh, it’s _definitely_ a fire guy, trust me.”

“It won't-” and he stops as the news anchor shows footage of an alley in the city, with soot stains on the ground and tape marking where the bodies were. “What the…”

“So, what d’you think? Fire guy or not?” When the camera pans back to the lady standing in front of the alley, he sees Mere standing at the front of the crowd, looking with her eyebrow raised.

“I’ll meet you there.”

\------

“So, you have anything?” Ross walks alongside his little cousin, her hands resting on her pregnant belly.

“Not much, haven't had a chance to do any questioning since you insisted on meeting me here.” Mere gives him a sideways glance.

“Hoping my nose can give us a hand?”

She shrugs. “Well, you are the full blood werewolf here, and your nose is better than mine, the weak blood.” He chuffs, bumping her shoulder. “You’re not a weak blood.”

“Aww, that’s so sweet. No, c’mon, lets find the fire guy.” Ross frowns.

“How are you so sure they’re a guy? They could be a girl. Or neither.” Mere frowns. “I dunno. I just get this feeling, y’know?” He nods, knowing better than to disprove her.

By this point they had made their way to the back of the alley, and Ross looks around. “You’re clear.” Mere mutters, trusting his ears to hear her. Ross crouches low and takes a big breath, looking for a trail, and nearly coughs it back out, due to residue smoke. Mere shoots an alarmed look at him as he waves at her, signaling he was alright. He takes another breath, and frowns. There was _something_ , but he loses it as soon as he finds it. He growls under his breath, and takes another sniff. _There!_ his brain zooms in on the scent, and he straightens up. Mere just looks at him, eyebrow raised.

“You were right. Someone left this way.” Ross looks around, checking for any place the mystery man could have disappeared to. “Fire guy?” Mere says after him, when he starts to walk in the direction of the trail. “Yup. Fire guy.”

Mere grins. “Awesome. Where do we-”

“No. You’re going back home.” Ross cuts her off, standing in front of her with his arms crossed. Mere looks at him despairingly.

“Aww, c’mon! Why am I going home?” She gives him her best puppy eyes, pleading to stay.

“No. You’re 8 months pregnant Mere, you are not coming with me. I won’t risk you getting hurt.” He says, his tone firm, telling her _this is not a choice._

“I can look after myself! I’m not ten anymore Ross!” She glares at him, her hackles rising.

“This guy has already killed 5 people. He could be dangerous!” Ross despares, trying to get some sense into Mere. “But-”

“No. No buts.” He says gently, putting his hands on her arms. “Please, Mere. I promised Uncle Lucas to keep you safe.” She lowers her head, thinking. Then, very slowly, she nods her head.

“Ok. But, you will let me meet him if he isn’t dangerous. Agreed?” She looks up into his eyes, mirroring his own blues. He nods. “Promise. Now _shoo_!” He leads her out of the alley, and she begins to walk away. Mere gives him a glance over her shoulder, worry making her frown. He gives her a smile, and she turns away. Ross lets out a sigh, and turns back down the alley.

“Alright, Ross. Time to find this guy.”

\------

_Drip, drip, drip._

Alex shivers as he makes his way down the sewer, the chill, stale air creeping over his skin unpleasantly. He looks up as he passes under another manhole, the brief specks of light a reminder of the sun. He shivers, and curls closer to the little ball of flame in his palm. He looks up and trudges on, a breath of freezing wind making ghost noises over the stale water. He spots an old door close to the wall, and speeds up towards it.

When he reaches it, he sees that the old wood had swollen slightly to the water, and there was a huge lock on it. The little piece of hope inside him dims slightly, but he tries shoving against it anyway, desperate for a place to rest. The door gives, but only for a second when it stops moving completely. He tries again and again, but the little movement it had was no longer available.

He looks at the flame in his hand, and he raises it to the lock as he raises the temperature till it was as hot as a welding torch. A crack echoes down the tunnel when the lock gives way, and he freezes, listening desperately. All he hears is the water rippling in the nonexistent breeze, and he lets out a breath.

Alex opens the door cautiously and slips inside, shutting it behind him before looking at his surroundings. A tiny box room, with shelves to the low ceiling stacked with mouldy boxes and damp sheafs of paper greeted him, and he sighs in relief. He makes his way to the back corner, out of sight of the door, and he finds a bundle of old empty burlap sacks. He picked one up and shook it out, noting that they seemed mostly dry.

(makes as good a bed as any) “Yeah, I guess.” Alex says, and begins to layer them all up. (what do you plan on doing next?) Alex shrugs. “I dunno. I don’t want to leave town yet. This place is nicer than the others.”

(that may be true, but after last night…)

“Hmm. I’ll see how everything blows over, and we’ll go from there I guess.” He straightens up after fixing his sleeping place.

(that’s a lot of guesses) Alex scowls. “So!? Have you got anything?” He glares at the shape in the corner of his vision. (fine, fine. calm down)

“I’m gonna sleep. Keep an eye out till I get up yeah?” he sets himself down slowly and curls up. (ok. get some shut-eye kay?) He nods and he drifts away into oblivion.


	2. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ross searches, and Alex thinks
> 
> \------
> 
> posting this sooo late oop. posted this ages ago on tumblr lol. someone needs to chase me up about posting this here.
> 
> no warnings for this chapter!

Ross crouches over the manhole cover somewhere in the back streets of the little town. He sniffs, making sure that the fire guy definitely went down into the sewers. He sighs as his nose tells him true, as he remembers running down cold, damp, stinking tunnels, desperate for a hiding place after an unexpected freak out led him to Change. Thankfully, Mere had managed to calm him down enough to Change back, and she had sheltered him until everything blew over.

Anyway. Back to now.

Ross stands and looks down both ways of the backstreet he was in, and, seeing no one, reaches for his keys to the little tool he has attached to them. He twists it into one of the little gaps, and pulls the cover off with little effort, and he glares down the gaping hole. He checks his surroundings again, then pulls the tool out of the cover and flicks on the little pen torch. he tugs his hood over his head, and slips down quietly, and pulls the cover back over.

Once it was settled, Ross takes a quick look around, and takes a quick sniff.

Another reason he hates the sewers, is because he loses any scent he was following. His wolf whispers _Listen,_ so he does. He closes his eyes, focusing on what he hears.

He hears water rushing in pipes around him, air moving slowly from drains and random little holes dotted in the ceiling. Small animals pattering across a raised platform several tunnels away, slow breathing…

_Wait. Slow breathing?_

He frowns, and tries to pinpoint the noise. Someone, not an animal, a person, was sleeping in a little room nearby. He begins to plot the route in his head, when another noise startles him from his thoughts. A low crackle, like a fire, faint, almost ethereal, floats down the tunnels. His eyes snap open. _Fire demon?_ he wonders, and decides to proceed with caution. _Maybe that’s how they died? They were killed by the demon, and this poor kid got involved with it all,_ He thinks, turning a corner and listening for the crackle of flames.

Eventually, Ross is heading down another tunnel, when he spots a door. An old door, slightly swollen from the damp, the lock broken. He memorises where exactly it is from where he is standing, and switches off his torch.

He swallows as the darkness engulfs him, and he moves quietly towards the door and the sleeping person. He reaches a hand out carefully, and it brushes against the wood of the door. He lowers his hand till he feels the handle, and carefully, carefully, opens the door. 

For a terrifying second, he thinks _what if it creaks?_ only for it to open noiselessly. He is slightly surprised when he opens it, to find a warm red glow coming from the far corner of the room. There was stacked shelves blocking his view, and the whole room smelled slightly of damp. But his scent. It was definitely him in the corner. _Now, how to approach him…_

 

\------

 

Alex curled tighter around his little flame, and sighed. He hated it when this happened. When he would lose it like that, and he would be forced to hide then move on. He didn’t want that to happen here. He didn’t want to move on. He liked this town, he really did. He shivers when a fresh breeze rolls through the room, and curls closer instinctively. When he shivers again, he looks up. The door was open. _Why was the door open?_  

His brain flails for a couple of seconds, panicky. He tries to calm himself down, telling himself it must have drifted open. It doesn’t stop him from preparing the ball of flame in his hand to be used to throw at whoever found him. Finally, he catches a flash of brilliant blue eyes around one of the shelves and _runs._

A curse sounds behind him as he darts down the tunnel, and Alex’s heart is in his throat. He hears no footsteps, but his fight or flight instinct stops him from turning around, his brain yelling _run run run run!_

He skids around a corner and spies a cover in the ceiling just a ways further down. He extinguishes his flame and runs towards it. Another curse as the light disappears, and the bastard chasing him picks up the pace. Alex panics as he loses sight of the pinpricks of light, before seeing it again and putting on an extra burst of speed. He’s closing in on it when he realises he still has to open it, and he thinks _I’m not gonna make it,_ when his follower trips on something and tumbles down.

Alex hits the ladder up and shimmies up it in record time, before pushing at the cover with all of his might. A hand grabs his foot and he kicks out as he shoves the cover out of the way and climbs out into the blessed sunlight. He scrambles up properly before shoving the cover back into place, and looks around himself. 

He’s glad to see he’s still in a back alley, and he darts away before his pursuer can climb out. Alex twists and turns, letting himself get deeper into the maze of back streets, when he stumbles on a main road. He glances both ways then behind himself, and turns away to disappear into the crowd of people.


	3. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ross rages, and Alex saves someone
> 
> \------
> 
> this one i posted more recently, but still was a couple of days ago
> 
> warnings for drunkeness, violence, mild peril and choking for this chapter

“Shit! Little…” Ross curses as he tries to find the guys scent, but comes up with nothing. “Dammit.”

His phone rings and he curses again. “Yes?” He says very curtly.

“Umm, oookaaay, what’s got your knickers in a twist?”

Ross sighs. “Sorry, Mere. I lost the fire guy.” 

“So you’re pissed off?”

“Yeah, I’m bloo- yeah, I’m, I’m pissed off. Yeah. Sorry.” He glances around himself. 

“Mate, you don’t have to apologise to me. You can keep looking if you wanna, or you can not bother. He’s probably gonna leave town anyways, after that show last night.” Mere points out.

Ross looks up at the small crowds and sighs again. “Yeah. True.”

He pauses. “You’re gonna stick around, aren’t you?” Mere asks.

“Yep.”

“God damn it, Ross. You’re absolutely hopeless.”

“You bet.”

 

\------

 

After wandering around for ages, Alex finally settles in an alley opposite a bar. He couldn’t be bothered to walk any farther, as he was pretty worn out after that chase in the sewers. And he couldn’t remember the last time he ate something.

It was getting pretty late, almost dusk, when the bar across from him started to get signs of life. Soon, it was filled with people laughing, drinking, and having a good time. Alex sighs and tries to settle down to get some sleep, when a woman stumbles out of the bar. She was clearly very drunk, and a big man was following her, who was decidedly not drunk at all. 

Worry flickers in the pit of Alex’s stomach, but he doesn’t move yet. _You could be wrong,_ he thinks. But the man grabs the woman’s arm and begins to drag her away, and Alex leaps to his feet and jogs over. He hears what the man is saying to her, and his stomach tightens. 

“Hey!” The man jumps at Alex’s shout, and the woman manages to shrug of his arm in his surprise. “Hey. I just wanted to make sure this lady is alright.” The man begins to defend himself, but Alex tunes it out. 

“Hey, miss. Do you want me take you back to the bar? We could call one of your friends yeah? Is that ok?” The woman - he realises that she’s a lot younger than he originally thought - looks at him with wide eyes. She nods slowly, and grabs onto his arm. 

“Hey! What are you doing?” the guy asks him.

“Doing what you should of been doing if you were trying to help her. Later.” he says as he leads the girl back to the bar, leaving the man alone fuming.

“Can you call one of your friends? Or are there any in there?” He asks her quietly.

She shakes her head slowly. “No. Came ‘lone.” She slurs slightly, as she begins to shiver. She looks up at him again. “Can you call my brother? On m’phone?” She shivers again, more violently this time, and Alex nods. She tells him the name and he waits with her until her brother shows up.

The brother takes the girl into the car, and pulls Alex aside. "What happened?" the brother demanded. 

“I don’t know what happened in the pub," Alex started. "I was on the other side of the road when she walked out being followed by this creepy guy. I chased him off and took her here when she asked me to call you. And that’s it. Hope she’ll be ok.” He adds, and he belatedly thinks he might of crossed a line. But the brother relaxes. “Cheers mate. If only more guys were like you, I wouldn’t have to worry.”

Alex nods and brother and sister leave, and it starts to rain again. He decides that his alley probably won’t give him much shelter, and goes to try and find a better place to sleep for the night.

He walks for a bit, before he gets the feeling that he was being followed. He glances in a shop window, dark now that it’s after midnight, and he spots someone trailing along behind him. For a second he worries that it’s the guy from earlier in the sewers, but he sees that it can’t be. The guy in the sewers was taller, and thinner as well. This follower was shorter, and had a bit of gut on him. Alex tries to ignore him and keeps walking.

He spots a place to sleep and starts moving towards it, when a fist grabs the back of his collar and yanks him. He stumbles and chokes slightly, dodging a fist to his face and lashing out. He loses his breath again when he’s shoved against a wall, and his follower pins him by the throat. His head spins before realising that his attacker was the creepy asshole from earlier.

“Remember me, bud?” He snarls nastily, as Alex tries to shove him off. He laughs as he squeezes and Alex chokes. His vision is going black, and he panics.

He can feel his hands warming up against his will, and tries to shove the guy off of him again. Then suddenly the guy is gone, and he can breathe. He drops to his knees and heaves in great gulps of air. A loud _crack!_ makes him dart to his feet too fast, and for a moment dizziness takes him. Someone catches his shoulder and he panics again, trying to shove them off and run, before a voice calms him. 

“Hey. Hey, calm down. It’s alright, I’m not gonna hurt you.”

Alex looks up and glances into bright blue eyes. 

“You’re...you’re the guy from earlier. You chased me.” Alex says dumbly. The guy gives a half smile. “Yeah, sorry about that. I didn’t mean to freak you out.”

Alex laughs shakily, and the guy helps him to sit down carefully. “Shit.” is all he can say, and the blue eyed man crouches in front of him. 

“I’m Ross.” He says, and Alex actually looks at him. He sees a young man, same age as him is his first guess, but his blue eyes look older than the rest of him. His short spiky dark hair is wet from the rain, and the guy - Ross, watches him carefully. Alex takes a couple more deep breaths, before answering him.

“I’m-I’m Alex.”


	4. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ross and Alex get coffee, and Ross offers help
> 
> \------
> 
> no warnings for this chap!

“Well, I would have liked to have met you in better circumstances, but I don’t think thats gonna happen.” Ross says conversationally.

Alex and the dark haired man from earlier are sitting in a 24 hour cafe, and Alex was curled around his cup of coffee. “How long have you been on the streets?” Ross asks, a small frown on his face. Alex takes a gulp of coffee before answering.

“Since I was twelve.”

Ross winces. “And how old are you now?”

Alex looks away. “26.”

Ross leans back in his chair. “Shit. That’s… that’s a long time.”

Alex nods, and he stays silent. 

“How did you end up on the street?” Ross frowns, taking a sip of his coffee.

Alex keeps his eyes on his coffee. He swirls it in his cup, before finishing it. “Don’t wanna talk about it. Sorry.”

“No, no, that’s fine. If it’s private, that’s fine. There’s no need to apologise.” Alex sets his mug down and silence falls.

“Hey. Alex?” the brunet looks up at Ross. “Yeah?”

“How would you like to stay somewhere safe? For… people. Like us.” Alex’s brain tells him to be on his guard as soon as he hears those words. “What d’you mean, ‘like us’?”

Ross winces again. “I worded that wrong. Sorry.” He clears his throat and shifts in his seat. “You’re a pyro right?” Alex’s eyes widen and he feels his walls coming up. He glances around but no one is close enough to hear their conversation. “Hey, it’s ok. I’m a werewolf. A full blooded one.”

Alex begins to instinctively curl in on himself. “Last time I met a werewolf it didn’t end too well for me.” He says, his voice guarded. Worry and concern flash across Ross’ face, before he composes himself. “Where? Down south? Those bastards can go and fuck themselves. They shouldn’t be allowed to roam the streets.” Ross seethes and Alex is thrown. He didn’t expect him to react so violently. 

“Anyway. I live in a little place. Just outside the city. There’s a bunch of other supes living there. There’s witches, sorcerers, shamans, and other half demons as well. A couple of fire half demons. I know for a fact that they would want to help you. To show you the ropes if need be. It’s a safe place, and its small. You can stay there, with us if you want. You wouldn’t have to run anymore.” Alex listened to this in disbelief. “....Really? You’re not joking with me, are you?” 

Alex knew Ross could see the hope in his eyes. All he had ever wanted was to stop running. To know where his next meal was going to come from. To have a bed, and a roof over his head. To be a person again. Ross gave him a small smile. “I’m not joking.”

Alex looked to his hands, and he realised he was shaking slightly. _He’s not lying. He’s telling the truth. You can be safe._

“You would be able to leave at any point, if you end up not liking it. No one can keep you there if you want to go.” The brunet looked straight in Ross’ eyes, searching for any hint of a lie. When he didn’t find any, he looked to his hands again.

“Yes.” He said after a moment. Ross frowns slightly in confusion, before Alex clarifies. “Yes, I will go with you.”

Ross smiles gently, and Alex whispers “I don’t want to run anymore.”

The dark haired man stands and tugs Alex up. “You don’t have to.”

 

\------

 

Ross keeps his eyes on the road, tensing and untensing his hands. He glances back at the scruffy man sitting next to him. Alex is a mess, clothes ripped and patched so many times there must not have been any of the original fabric left. He spots a smudge of dirt on his jaw bone, a bit of stubble from when he last shaved, the small scars that seemed to cover him. The brunet is leaning his head against the window, watching the trees fly by. Ross’ wolf tells him to take Alex away, keep him as safe from everything as he could, to look after him. Ross growls inwardly and looks back to the road.

His phone rings, making both men jump. “Sorry.” The dark haired man mutters, and Alex settles again as he answers it. 

“Hello?”

“Hey Ross!”

His face pulls into a frown. “Mere? Shouldn’t you be asleep?”

His cousin scoffs. “I’m not 7 anymore Ross. I can decide when my bedtime is.”

Ross rolls his eyes and sighs. “Did you find the fire guy?” Mere pipes up after a moment.

Ross glances at Alex and they’re gazes catch. He clears his throat and looks away. “Um. Yeah, uh. I did, yeah.” 

Mere is quiet for a second. “He’s with you now, right?”

“Yep.”

“Oop. Does he have a name?”

“Yes.”

“Don’t tell me, I’ll ask him when you guys get here.”

Alex sniffs and Ross glances at him again. “...You guys are coming here right?”

Ross huffs. “Course, where else would we go?”

“I don’t know!” Mere defends. “You could have some sort of cave in the woods for all I know!”

Ross snorts. “A cave in the woods? What d’you take me for, a South wolf?”

Mere laughs. “Point. Anyway, I should go. Trotty is getting antsy, and everyone knows what he’s like without sleep.”

Ross hears muffled shouting in the background and laughs. “That’s definitely a sight to see.”

“Probably not for the new guy though. Don’t wanna scare him off, eh?”

Ross smirks. “True. Anyway, see ya.”

“Bye.” 

Ross hangs up and throws his phone onto his dash. “Who was that?” 

The dark haired man glances at Alex. “Hm? Oh, that was my little cousin, Mere.” 

Alex raises an eyebrow. “Mere?” the shorter man laughs.

“Short for Meredith. But don’t tell her I told you that.” He says with a wink, and Alex turns his head and smiles to himself.

They carry on in silence for a while, before Ross turns up a dirt road. He peeks at Alex and notices him asleep.

“Hey.” He gives him a little nudge and Alex blinks owlishly a couple of times, before sitting up fast. “Hey, calm down. We’re almost there.”

“Oh.” He says, and looks down at his hands. “Ross?” he says after a moment.

“Yeah?” 

Alex clears his throat. “Can you...um. Can you, uh, call me Smith? Instead of Alex?”

Ross looks over at the brunet and sees him curled in on himself, his hands slightly shaking. Before he realises what he’s doing, he’s reaching over and he has Alex- no, _Smith’s_ hand in his. Smith glances up and Ross squeezes his hand.

“Hey. It’s okay. Smith.” He adds with a smile, and the nervous grin he gets from Smith melts his heart a little. Smith squeezes his hand back, and goes back to looking out of the window.

Ross notes quietly how Smith didn’t pull his hand away, and squashes the little burst of hope. _What’s wrong with me? I just met this guy, and my wolf is going crazy for him. What the hell?_

The dirt road turns to gravel, and gradually the trees fall away to reveal little houses, some looking sturdier than others, almost all with the lights out. A glance at the clock on his dash tells Ross that it’s almost 2 in the morning, and he winces. _No wonder Smith was falling asleep._

Ross hears Smith take a deep breath as they slow down slightly approaching an old farmhouse. He squeezes Smith’s hand again, and is forced to pull away to park the car. Ross practically _hears_ his wolf whimper in disappointment, and mentally tells it to shut up.

He switches the car off and the front door swings open as they both get out. Ross bounds up the steps leading to the porch and swings Mere up into a hug. 

“Hello there stranger.” she giggles, and he sets her down. “Everything okay?” he asks, looking at her face. She laughs, and catches his face in her hands.

“I’m fine, ya eejit. C’mon, introduce me to your friend!” She turns to look at Smith, who’s still standing next to the car, wringing his hands. Ross beckons him up and Mere gives him a big grin.

“Um, hi.” Smith rubs the back of his neck and jumps when Mere hugs him. “Um.” Ross laughs and tugs Mere off of him. “Mere, give him some room, Jesus.” Ross says leading them inside and shutting the door behind them. 


	5. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Smith gets introduced to some of the residents.
> 
> \------
> 
> no warnings again!

Smith looks around himself as Ross leads the trio to the kitchen, his stomach twisting into knots. He takes a quick breath before entering the kitchen.

Its a simple kitchen, nothing fancy, like you would find in a family home. There was also a dining table where a grumpy man was sitting, with brown hair and a cast on his leg. "Alright Trott? Didn't think you'd be still up." Ross greets, clapping him on the back as he sits next to him. 

Trott grunts, and takes a sip out of his mug while eyeing Smith up. "Who's this then?" He asks, eyebrow raised at Ross.

"Um, I'm Smith. Smith." Smith introduces himself, still standing in the doorway. Mere grins and hops onto the counter. "Cool! Nice to meet ya Smith." Trott just looks at him, before nodding to an empty seat.

Smith hesitantly sits down, his hands still twisting from nerves. "So," Trott sits upright. "what are you? Anything I should be worried about?" he smirks as he says that, but the look in his eyes meant he was deadly serious.

Smith grins sheepishly. "Uh, well, I hope not."

"Hmm." Trott grunts, taking another sip.

Ross seems to be mildly annoyed at Trott's behaviour, and nudges his shoulder. "Ease off." he whispers in his ear, hoping Smith doesn't hear. The half demon looks to his hands again.

"Sorry. I'm tired. I'm a shaman, which means I've seen a lot of scars. I would rather not see anymore, to be perfectly honest." Trott shakes his head slightly, as if chiding himself.

"Yeah, usually he would have his carer with him, but she's gone to bed." Mere pipes up, hiding a cheeky grin when the shaman gives her a glare.

"I'm nobody's carer Mere. In fact, if I _was_ caring over anyone, it would be _you_ , miss soon-to-be-mother."  A sleepy female voice said from the doorway, and when Smith twists in his seat he sees a red haired woman in batman logo pyjamas, rubbing the sleep from her eyes as she makes her way to Trott. "You coming to bed anytime soon mister?" She loops her arms around him and presses a kiss to his temple. "Yeah, in a bit." The shaman whispers, kissing her cheek.

Smith looks away to his hands again, letting the couple have their moment. "I'm Katie by the way." Smith starts, and looks back up to see the red head smiling at him. "Oh. Um, I'm Smith." 

Katie grins. "Welcome to our little hamlet Smith. And if Trott is being a wee grumpy face it's because he needs sleep." She knocks her head slightly against the man in question's temple, as he huffs and smiles.

"Sorry Smith. I'm just concerned about this place. We don't need anymore Jack's here."

"Or Harris's." Mere swings her legs from her perch. "I'll point them out to you tomorrow if you'd like Smith." Ross says, watching him with a slight frown. Smith nods and stifles a yawn.

Katie scowls at the others. "What are you lot doing? The poor thing must be exhausted and you're sitting here questioning him? Honestly, where have your manners gone?" she stands and the other three have the decency to look meek. She shakes her head and tugs Smith up.

"C'mon. There's a room at the top of the house if you would like it for now. We can sort something out more permanent in the morning when you've rested, 'kay?" Smith nods as she leads him out of the kitchen and up the stairs.

"Um, Katie?" Smith asks her after a moment.

"Hmm?"

"Uh, if you don't mind me asking, uh, what are you?" Smith asks hesitantly.

She gives him a small smile. "It's alright. I'm a witch." She pauses at a door and listens for a moment. She shakes her head and goes back to the stairs. "What about you?" She cocks her head slightly as they walk up the stairs.

"Half-demon." he answers, looking up the stairs. 

"What kind?" she pants slightly as they reach the top of the stairs, and stands waiting for him to answer.

"Uh, fire." Smith rubs the back of his neck and glances up and down the hallway. She nods to herself and leads them down to the door at the end of the hall. 

"You can sleep here for tonight. The bathrooms just that door there-" she points to a door to the left and he nods, "and Ross' room is just there if you need a hand with something, but you should be fine." She waves her hand in the direction of Ross' door and gives him a grin.

"Cool?" Katie raises an eyebrow and crosses her arms.

"Hm? Yep, yeah. I-I should be fine. Thanks." Smith stifles another yawn and Katie's face softens. "Go on. Get some sleep. I have a feeling you need it."

Smith nods and smiles shyly. "Yeah. Yeah, thanks." 

She huffs slightly, and shakes her head. "Good night Smith." She says as she walks back down the hall and down the stairs, leaving Smith alone outside his bedroom door.

He sighs to himself, and lets himself inside.

It's a simple bedroom, just a bed, a wardrobe and a bedside drawer. Smith takes a quick glance around, before he lies down on the bed, fully dressed, and passes out.

 

\------

 

"Are you sure he'll be alright? That he won't hurt any of us?" Trott chews his lip as he looks to the door way after his girlfriend and the new guy. Smith.

"Also, what kind of name is Smith? Seriously?" Mere points out.

"His." Ross says defensively. "And Trott? I'm sure he won't hurt anyone. At least, not intentionally."

"What about those guys on the news? He burned them , remember?" Mere twists her lip in thought.

"He never meant to do that. And, also, I'm not even sure if it was him."

Mere frowns. "What d'you mean? Who else could it have been?"

"Is there another half demon in the town?" Trott looked alarmed.

"No, no, calm down. When I was in the sewers looking for him, I _think_ , note, _think_ I heard a fire demon."

Trott and Mere look at him gobsmacked for a moment. "A fire demon?" Mere manages.

"Yes. I was thinking that, maybe, the demon burned these guys and Smith just ended up being at the wrong place at the wrong time."

"Hmm." Trott hummed, crossing his arms. "I still don't trust him."

"Well, I can assure you," Katie says as she enters the room, after hearing Trott's last statement, "that boy is carrying a lot of guilt, and the last thing _he_ needs is you being all distrustful and stuff. When I walked in here he looked like a frightened deer, poor thing." She says as she sits next to Trott. "What happened to him?" She aims at Ross.

The werewolf sighs and runs his hair through his hair, making it spike up. "All he said was that he's been living on the streets almost all his life. That's it. He wouldn't say anything about what happened before he was homeless, or anything since then."

They sit in silence for a while, before Katie pipes up. "Well, I trust him. He doesn't seem the type to hurt anyone willingly."

"I'm with Katie on this one. He's just some scared kid." Ross crosses his arms, his tone one of finality. Mere nods as well, her face deep in thought.

Trott sighs before muttering his agreement. He looks up and checks the wall clock. "Shit," he mumbles, "think it's time for bed guys. 'Specially you Mere."

Mere scowls up on the counter, but jumps down as Katie helps Trott to stand up and Ross grabs his crutches. They all make their way to their respective bedrooms, and Ross lets his mind wander as he readies himself for bed.

He remembers making his way down the street earlier, looking for Smith, when he spotted the said half demon curled up in an alley opposite a bar. He settled in a little ways away, keeping an eye on him as night fell, and the bar opened. 

He saw the girl being harassed, remembers Smith helping her back, making sure she was okay. Then, when she was gone, how Smith had set off looking for a new place to settle for the night, and the dick who had followed him.

He remembers the guy attacking Smith, the look of fear on his face. Pulling the guy off of him had been no problem, though, he reflects, throwing him against the wall probably hadn't the best idea, as proven when Smith had all but leapt up and had almost fallen down again at the sound. 

The relief in his eyes when he had realised that Ross hadn't wanted to hurt him.

The walk after to the coffee shop had been quiet, no matter Ross' prodding. He eventually gave up when he realised that Smith didn't want to linger on the past. He remembers the hope in Smith's eyes when Ross asked him to go with him to somewhere safe. 

Ross looked at his reflection in the bathroom mirror, and wondered when the last time Smith felt actually properly safe. When the last time he had had a proper meal was. When he slept in an actual bed. When he last didn't have to worry about someone stealing his stuff, or pissing on him in jest, or murdered, or jumped.

Ross sighs. He didn't think he had the heart to ask him all these questions and more. His heart ached for him, and that overwhelming desire to keep him safe from the world filled him. His eyes flash and he growls, telling his wolf to shut up and piss off. He hears whining in the back of his head, but it does as it's told, and he finishes up.

He makes his way to his room, pausing in front of Smith's room, noticing the door slightly ajar. He nosed it open and notes Smith, unconscious and fully dressed on the bed, his little snores making him even more adorable. 

 _Shut up_ , he growls inwardly, before stepping in carefully to cover him with the sheets. Ross smiles to himself, and shuts the door behind him quietly. He makes his way to his own room, shutting the door and curling up under his own sheets.

He closes his eyes, and dreams of nothing.


	6. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Smith hopes to start a new life, and Ross explains Trott's leg.
> 
> \------
> 
> mentions of past violence in this one.

Smith drifts awake, sunlight streaming through the window, the sheets tangled about his legs. He sighs and nuzzles into the pillow before he quite realises what he's doing. When he does, he sits up with a start, looking about himself in early morning confusion.

Memories from last night come to the front of his mind, and he calms down. Ross. The hamlet. Trott and Mere and Katie. Ross. _Ross._

Smith flushes slightly at the thought of the werewolf, and shakes his head. He looks down and sees he's still wearing the clothes he's been in for the past few months. He wrinkles his nose slightly, and pulls the sheets away. His eyes catch on the scars on his hands, various burn marks from when he couldn't control his curse, from when he had to pick up the glass from a smashed bottle when…

He shakes his head vigorously. _Don't_. _Don't ever think about that again._ (new start and all that. don't wanna remember _that_ eh?)

Smith sighs. "Morning." He whispers, well aware of the fact that there were at least two werewolves in the house, and he didn't really wanted to get caught talking to himself.

(oi. you're not talking to yourself, you're talking to me)

"Yeah and who else can hear you? Hm?" Smith mutters, standing and stretching, hearing his back crack loudly, making him groan. (idiot. also, those were from the various alleys you've slept in)

"Well, unless you haven't noticed, there were no other options mister smarty pants." Smith stretches again, giving his limbs a little shake.

(by the way, ross came in a put the sheet on you)

Smith flushes slightly at the mention of the dark haired wolf, and rubs his arms. 

(aw. you have a crush)

"Fuck off." he mumbles, opening the door and finding a neat pile of clothes next to his door. He picks them up, finding a fresh long sleeved shirt, a pair of jeans and a pair of boxers, with a note on it in unfamiliar hand writing.

_Figured you didn't have any clothes. So I nicked these from Ross. Should fit you (I think) :) Mere_

He smiles and notes to thank Mere later, and heads to the bathroom.

(you're so cute when you have a crush)

"Shut up."

 

\------

 

Ross is standing in the kitchen waiting for the kettle to boil when Smith comes in the room after his shower. The werewolf looks up and, noticing what Smith was wearing, smirks slightly with an eyebrow raised.

"Mere. She, uh. Put these. Outside my door. Um. Hope you don't mind." Smith blurts, chastising himself inwardly, flush high on his cheeks.

Ross just laughs and pours the boiled water into the mugs. "It's alright, she told me. Admittedly, _after_ she had done it, but she told me."

Ross looks up and notices Smith's red cheeks still. "Don't worry about it, they suit you." The werewolf grins when Smith goes redder, but grins back.

"Um, thanks." The half demon says lamely, and leans on the counter next to Ross.

"Here." The dark haired wolf gives him a mug of tea, before grabbing his own cup and leaning next to him.

"So." Smith rubs the back of his neck. "Good morning." Ross bumps his shoulder carefully, making sure not to spill their tea. Smith laughs and bumps him back. "Morning."

Ross grins before looking away sheepishly. "Sorry about all that last night with Trott and Mere and all that. We had some… _interesting_ characters last time one of use brought someone new. They're how Trott broke his leg. Bloody bastards."

Smith frowns. "Oh. What happened exactly? If it's, you know, alright. To ask."

Ross nods. "It's alright. Trott was healing one of their number, a sorcerer I think." He frowns in thought for a second, before shaking his head and continuing with the story.

"The idiot kept claiming he didn't need help, that Trott should just leave him alone, blah blah blah. Then he started getting angry. Kept cussing and swearing at Trott, you know? Wasn't a pleasant guy. He started to get a little violent, so I stepped in, tried to hold him down. He got real mad at that, and sent a spell at Trott. A lethal one." Ross goes quiet. Smith frowns with concern. After a moment, he hesitantly asks, "What happened next?"

Ross starts slightly, "Sorry Smith. Anyway, thanks to Katie, she managed to divert the spell, so it hit a lamp sitting next to Trott instead. It…kinda exploded. The force of it knocked Trott out of his chair, and his leg got caught on the bottom of the chair? I think? Anyway, when he landed, his leg twisted and snapped, which…wasn't pretty. I grabbed the sorcerer before he could leg it, and threw him down into the basement till we had decided what to do with him and helped Trott."

The werewolf took a gulp of his tea before carrying on. "So, we patched Trott up and gathered the sorcerers friends up. We told them what had happened, and that we were gonna kick the guy out. Some of them weren't too happy with that, and we told them that they could leave with him if they wanted. One or two, the peacekeepers of their little group I guess, tried to persuade us to let the guy stay, but we wouldn't allow that. He hurt one of our own, and that's not on." He looks at Smith, letting the meaning of his words sink in. Smith nods and takes a drink of his tea.

"Some of them left with the sorcerer, and in my personal opinion good riddance, but one or two stayed. Kim, who's a fire half demon as well, and Rythian, a vampire."

Alarm flashed through Smith, as he spluttered, "A vampire? What, uh, why would-"

"He's alright Smith. He keeps to himself mainly, and the only person I've seen him really talk to voluntarily is Zoey. He won't hurt you, or anyone. As I said, he keeps to himself." Ross interrupts.

"…Sorry. Bad, memories." Smith says, looking at his feet.

"You seem to have a lot of those." Ross remarks, nudging his side in jest. Smith only huffs and nods, his hands clenching and unclenching around his mug.

"Ah, sensitive subject?" 

Smith nods. "You could say that."

They sit in silence for a while, finishing their tea, until Ross puts his empty mug in the sink. "Come on. I'll introduce you to Kim. Maybe she can help you control your powers."

Smith smiles. "Yeah. Um, yeah, that would be really cool."

Ross grins. "Well, come on then! Finish up and lets go."

 

\-----

 

Trott watches from the living room as Ross leads Smith down into the hamlet to meet Kim. He'd overheard Ross telling Smith what happened to his leg. He understands that Smith was just curious, but he also knew that Smith was hiding something.

He just didn't know what. It was driving him mad.

The thing that Ross said about the demon though was bugging him. The chances that a fire demon _and_ a half demon are in the same place? And it was _just_ a coincidence?

Not very likely, that's for sure.

He remembered the look on Smith's face from last night, the nerves, the way he kept twisting his hands. It was quite clear that he'd seen some shit. Something he would probably want to leave behind.

Trott sighs. And then he goes off behaving like a right twat to the poor kid. If Trott was doing anything, he was making it pretty difficult for the half demon. Not on purpose though.

"What you sighing about mister?" Katie sits next to him, catching his hand in hers. "I was being a bit of a dickhead to Smith last night."

Katie hums in agreement, but sits up properly. "Is that why you're being a grumpy face?"

"Yeah." He leans into her shoulder, and she cuddles up closer to him. "How about apologising when you next see him? Hm? Like a normal person?"

Trott sticks his tongue out at her and Katie grins. "Oh, ha ha ha, very funny." He remarks dryly, making her grin wider.

"I know right?" She presses a kiss to his cheek before resting her head on his shoulder. "Ross has taken him to go see Kim." Trott says, leaning his own head on hers.

"Hmm. That's a good idea, get someone to help him."

The couple are silent for a while, taking easy breaths.

"Ross definitely fancies him though."

"Hell yeah he does." 


	7. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lessons, and letters.
> 
> \------
> 
> no warnings. theres been a lot of cute chapters eh? >:D

"Hey Kim!" 

 

"Oh hey Ross! What you doing up in my neck of the woods?" The tiny woman reaches up and gives the werewolf a hug.

 

"I was hoping you could help me with something." He grins, and beckons Smith forward.

 

"Kim? I'd like you to meet Smith. Smith, this is Kim. Our resident fire half demon."

 

"Hello Smith!" Kim grins and pulls him into a hug as well. Ross tries not to laugh as Smith flails for a second before she lets go.

 

"So what are you Smiffy?" She bounces on her tiptoes, looking expectantly at Smith.

 

"Huh? Oh, um, fire. Half demon. Um." Smith answers, rubbing the back of his neck. "Damn. I'm no longer the only fire demon here. Pooh." She mock pouts before grinning again.

 

"You need lessons?" Kim puts her hands on her hips, head tilted to one side in thought.

 

"Um, yes?" Smith answers, looking at her for a second before his eyes flicker back to his feet.

 

"Lessons. Cool. I can do that." The tiny half demon nods and grins.

 

"You can go do wolfie stuff now Ross, I'll look after Smith. Promise." She turns to the werewolf, arms crossed.

 

"Wolfie stuff?" Ross raises an eyebrow, noticing Smith trying to keep a straight face and failing. Kim hums her agreement, her grin cheeky.

 

Ross sighs. "Try not to burn anything down, yeah?" He says as he walks away from the half demons. "No promises!" Kim grabs Smith's hand and begins leading him into her house, the look on Smith's face making Ross laugh before they disappear from view.

 

"Who's he?" A voice asks from behind him, and Ross sighs.

 

"No one to worry about Hannah."

 

He turns to see the tall blonde woman standing with her arms crossed. "You sure? We don't want a repeat of last time." She's looking him straight in the eye, not giving him any room to lie if he wanted to.

 

"I hope." Is all he said, before making his way back to the house.

 

\------

 

"Smith's been gone for ages. Is he still at Kim's?" Mere looked up at Ross from where she was making dinner. 

 

"Yes? He should be at least."

 

"Well, Kim's not come around screaming about how she's lost him or killed him or anything. So that's good. He's probably lost track of the time or something."

 

Ross grunts, worrying his bottom lip between his teeth. Mere looks at him and sighs, shaking her head as she goes back to the bubbling pot in front of her.

 

"Don't worry Ross, Kim won't steal your boyfriend." She sees Ross' head snap towards her and she grins.

 

"He's not my boyfriend Mere. C'mon, I just met the guy." Ross protests, shifting on his place on the counter. Mere snorts, and turns to face him. "Yeah, but you want him to be."

 

Ross sighs, and puts his face in his hands. He pulls them away and pouts at her. "I hate you sometimes."

 

Mere laughs. "Yeah, no you don't!" She grins cheekily.

 

Both cousins hear the front door close, and Mere turns back around to the food, but not before mouthing at Ross 'go get him tiger' with a wink, Ross glaring at her before going to meet Smith.

 

"Hey." The fire demon says breathlessly, almost as if he'd been running. "Hey yourself stranger. I was worried Kim had kidnapped you or something." The werewolf grins as he leads them to the kitchen, Mere humming a tune under her breath.

 

"Hey Smith." She calls over her shoulder, before returning to the bubbling pots in front of her and humming again.

 

"Hey Mere. Smells awesome in here." Smith says as he sits down at the table. "Thanks Smith. Have fun at Kim's?" She wiggles her eyebrow at Smith, causing him to laugh and Ross to roll his eyes.

 

"Yeah, I learnt loads of cool things. And how to better control my powers! And she had loads of books about all the different types of demons, and all the different ways to control stuff. It was awesome!" Smith babbles, a grin plastered all over his face, a childish look of glee and happiness in his eyes. Ross smiles to himself as Smith continues, his hands waving about as he explains things to Mere, and he can't help but think that Smith looked adorable.

 

Smith eventually tapers off, running out of breath and things to say, and just grins. "So, you had a good day?" Mere smirks, tapping the spoon of the side of the pot. Smith laughs and flushes slightly. "Yeah, yeah, I had a good day."

 

"Well, I'm glad." She beams at him, and turns to Ross. "Hey, Ross? Can you go get Trott and Katie? The dinner is finished." Mere looks at him expectantly.

 

"Yeah, sure." Ross nods and heads out of the room to find the couple.

 

\------

 

A week later, and Smith has never felt happier. 

 

With the help of Kim, he was learning to control his powers better, so now he wasn't as likely to hurt someone by accident, and he had a load more confidence with them as well. He was starting to think of them less as a 'curse' and more of the 'gift' the other half demons said they were.

 

Trott was warming up to him as well, and they found that they had a great laugh, getting along like a house on fire as Mere said.

 

Mere kept giving him and Ross a strange look that he hadn't been able to decipher though, and every time she did it Ross would blush and look away.

 

And Ross was, well… Ross.

 

Smith's feelings towards the werewolf was still as undecipherable as they had been from almost the beginning. But, he was finding that, really, he didn't mind. At all, in fact.

 

So when Katie had come back from collecting the mail from the little PO box in town, he didn't think all too much of it until she held a letter out to him.

 

Smith raised an eyebrow at the letter. "What's this?" he asks, a frown placing itself on his features.

 

"Beats me. Take a look." Katie shrugs, and he takes the letter from her hand.

 

One glance at the handwriting on the address makes his blood run cold.

 

"Uh, I'm gonna read this in my room." He stands abruptly, and leaves the kitchen quickly, much to the confusion of everyone else in the room.

 

He shuts his bedroom door behind him and leans against, taking deep breaths. When he feels ready, Smith lifts the letter and reads the address again. His hands are shaking.

 

Smith knows, the fact that he has this letter, from this person, means that his new life at the hamlet is dead.

 

And so was everyone in it.


	8. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> John tries again, and Smith only feels fear
> 
> \------
> 
> tw: child death, but nothing graphic

John is a double checker.

 

He doesn't want any mistakes - he's learnt from enough.

 

He double checks the spell.

 

He makes sure he has the incantation correct in his memory. He mouths the words as he reads them. He makes sure the circles are prepared, that the symbols are correct. He makes sure he has all the ingredients, and extra in case he will need them. He knows he won't, but they are there.

 

John nods to himself, and looks up.

 

His acolytes child, a 12-year-old girl, watches him with wide eyes. A fire half demon. He has many acolytes, and they have many half demon children among them. It feels like he's running through the children too fast, without results.

 

The child's mother is speaking to her, telling her what a honour it is to be picked for this, that she will never have another chance like it, blah blah blah. He's heard this too many times, and without the progress he would of liked.

 

The child looks at him, and he sees in her eyes that she doesn't believe a word of it. _And she never will_ , he thinks, and he watches her back.

 

"We're ready." His voice cuts through the woman's mindless babble like a knife, and she looks at him with wide eyes in a reverent stare. She steps back to the edges of the basement they are in, and he looks around at his gathering.

 

His church.

 

His followers.

 

He looks at the child, and she doesn't believe. 

 

John begins to chant, his acolytes holding their breath collectively, praying that the child will be their new Chosen.

 

The child watches him, and doesn't believe.

 

\------

 

The woman screams as her daughter drops, dead, as the spell fails once again. She runs forward and cradles the child in her arms, wailing her grief.

 

John only feels bitter disappointment, and rage.

 

He feels cheated, again. The gods have failed him again, tantalising him, _teasing_ him, with the chance to bring unbridled power that only he could control into the world.

 

_And they snatched it away._

 

He steps back, lets the other acolytes comfort the grieving mother, clean up the mess. He clutches his spell book and goes to his private altar. 

 

He scans the pages again, and again, and _again_ , trying to see what he must have missed, when he's struck with realisation.

 

He cannot bring another power into this world. Not until the other is dead. He glances at his desk, spies the envelope, the paper, the pen.

 

John decides to bring their Chosen back.

 

But first, he must write a letter to his beloved step-son.

 

\------

 

Smith's hands tremble as he rips open the envelope, his breath coming out in ragged gasps. He stills as he reads the single sentence, one that shouldn't terrify him as much as it does.

 

 _It's time to come home, Alex_.


	9. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Smith panics, and Mere and Ross try to help
> 
> \------
> 
> tws: none!

Smith reads the words, over and over and over again, praying that what he was seeing wasn't true, that it was just a blank page, anything but _this_.

 

He's so out of it, he doesn't realise that the letter is slowly turning to a pile of ash in his hands. He curses when he sees only dust in his hands, so he burns that as well, till there is nothing left to prove the letters existence apart from the envelope.

 

Smith thinks about his step-dad, and rubs the scars on his arms through his shirt. 

 

(what do you think it means?)

 

He wants to say he doesn't know, but he sees no point in lying.

 

"You already know." he whispers instead, not willing to say it aloud.

 

(yeah, i do. do we have a plan?)

 

Smith laughs bitterly. "What do you think?"

 

(sorry)

 

"Nah, that was rude of me. Sorry."

 

(i don't think i can hold that against you to be perfectly honest)

 

A knock on the door makes Smith jump. "Hey, Smith? You alright mate?" Ross asks, and Smith's heart calms a little.

 

"Yeah! Yeah, I, um, am fine!" he stutters out, cursing himself for his stupidity.

 

"You sure? You looked pretty freaked downstairs. Wanna talk about it?" Smith winces.

 

"I'm alright, thanks!" Smith puts his head in his hands. He hated how he was rebuffing Ross, after all he had done. 

 

"…Okay. Well, if you need to talk or anything, I'm here." Smith waits and hears Ross' footsteps move away from the door. He sinks to the ground and wraps his arms around his knees.

 

(you had to, stop beating yourself up about it.)

 

Smith shakes his head and curls tighter in himself.

 

(we have to keep him safe. you did the right thing, even if it doesn't feel like it.)

 

"Shut up."

 

\------

 

Ross watches his hand tense on the edge of the counter in the kitchen. It was the evening now, and Smith had stayed in his room all day, refusing food and not giving away why he was upset.

 

"Ross, quit worrying. It's not gonna help anyone." Mere says, striding as much as a pregnant woman can into the kitchen.

 

"Can't help it." He grunts, not moving a muscle.

 

"Yes, you fucking can. Smith isn't a child, he can look after himself-"

 

"You didn't see the look on his face when he saw that letter. I did." Ross snaps, glaring at her for a second before turning away again.

 

"He looked like he had seen a ghost. And a bad one at that." He mumbles, and Mere softens.

 

"Ross, you can't baby him. You can't look after him forever. He's already been through hell, he can handle it." She says, moving forward to stand behind Ross.

 

"He shouldn't of had to. To, _deal_ , with anything like that in the first place." Ross hangs his head, his hair hiding his eyes. Mere musses his hair, murmuring softly to herself, "Need to cut your hair again soon." Ross grunts and shakes his head.

 

"He was real upset, Mere. I just want to make sure he's okay. But he won't even speak to me. What can I do, Mere? Do you know? 'Cause I sure as hell don't." He turns to her, and he knows Mere can see the look in his eyes.

 

She sighs, and pulls him down into a hug. "All I can think of at the moment, is to give him space. Let him work through it himself. Only Smith will know how to help himself, not me, not Trott, and _especially_ not you. Sorry, but that's the truth." 

 

Ross nods, and buries his head into her shoulder. He takes a shaky breath, and Mere rubs his shoulders. They stand like that for a time, before Ross whispers "Okay.", and pulls away. 

 

He nods again. "Okay." He says with a sigh. "Okay. You're right. I've just gotta, _work through it_ , I guess." 

 

Mere frowns. "Though _what_?"

 

Ross frowns back. "Uh, my wolf?" He says uncertainly, and Mere raises an eyebrow in disbelief.

 

"Your _wolf_ has taken an interest? In Smith?" She places her hands on her hips, staring up at Ross with wide eyes.

 

He rolls his eyes, and nods. "Yes, and yes, I know what that means." 

 

Mere sighs. "Fuckin' hell, Ross. You've gotten yourself into a right shithole eh?"

 

Ross laughs mirthlessly. "No shit, Sherlock." She punches his shoulder, and he laughs for real.


	10. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Smith meets a little boy, and he has a chat with Mere
> 
> \------
> 
> tws: mentions of burning by accident

Slowly, slowly, Smith begins to come back to them. He doesn't know what to do about John still, but he would rather die than go back. That he knows.

 

Sometimes, he would catch Ross giving him a strange look, before the werewolf would flush and turn away. Usually, 9 times out of 10, if Mere was there she would give Ross a knowing glance. They confused the hell out of Smith, but he didn't want to ask. It was probably a werewolf thing.

 

It was one afternoon, a week after the letter, and he was sitting on the front steps, watching the little ones run around like mad things. He wasn't really paying much attention, his head somewhere else entirely, when he felt a tap on his shoulder.

 

Smith looks up and sees a little boy, about 7 or 8, with brown hair and brown eyes. "Hello." Smith says, and the little boy smiles briefly.

 

"Hello." The boy echoes, and goes back to watching him with curious eyes.

 

"What's your name?" Smith asks, patting the bench beside him to get the kid to sit next to him.

 

"Nathaniel." the kid pronounces carefully, sitting down with just as much care.

 

"Wow. That's a cool name." Smith encourages, grinning at Nathaniel.

 

"Everyone calls me by my full name. But I don't want to be Nathaniel all the time." Nathaniel looks at his feet stretched out in front of him instead of at Smith.

 

"Well, what d'you want to be called then?" Smith tilts his head, showing him he had his full attention.

 

"I wanna be Nat. Not Nate, Nat." He looks up at Smith, his brown eyes serious.

 

Smith nods. "Okay, Nat. " He grins at Nat, and the little boy beams at him.

 

They sit in silence for a bit, watching the other children play, before Smith speaks. "Why aren't you playing with the other kids, Nat?"

 

Nat doesn't look at Smith when he answers. "Because I don't want to hurt them by accident."

 

"And how would you do that?" Smith frowns, worry and confusion warring inside. 

 

"I burned Emma a couple of days ago by accident. We were just playing, mucking around. I didn't mean to hurt her! I swear I didn't!" Nat had curled in on himself as he spoke, and Smith gave him a one armed hug.

 

"Hey, hey, it's okay. I know what you mean."

 

Nat sniffs, and looks up. "You do?"

 

Smith nods. "Yeah, yeah I do. I'm a fire half demon, and I worried about hurting my little sister a lot. I still worry about hurting people. But I've gotten a lot better at controlling it, and you will too."

 

Nat wipes his nose on his sleeve, and watches him with wide eyes. "You mean it?" 

 

"Yeah, course I do. Dealing with that kind of sh- crap, is a pain. But it'll get better." Smith corrects himself, and nudges the kid carefully.

 

Nat beams and dries his eyes. He wraps his arms around Smith in asbig a hug as the kid can manage with his shorter arms. "Thank you." He mumbles into Smith's hoodie, and the fire demon hugs him back.

 

"You're welcome, Nat." 

 

"Nathaniel!" Nat jumps when a loud female voice called his name, and a woman - Smith guessed to be Nat's mum - pulls him up and leads him away.

 

He catches a snippet of her telling him to stay away from Smith, he's a dangerous man and you don't want to be anywhere near him, she says. He looks away from the retreating pair, and carefully schools his face into a blank expression.

 

He sits for a while longer, just letting his mind wander away, back to his mum and his sister, and to John.

 

(don't. you'll regret thinking about him later)

 

_Why?_

 

(trust me. please, you're only gonna make yourself upset)

 

(and when you get upset, i get upset. and mad)

 

(and your powers go all out of whack as well)

 

"Point." Smith mutters.

 

"Aight Smith!" Mere calls as she leans in the doorway, and he looks back and up to her.

 

"Hey, Mere. What's up?"

 

She catches the car keys in her hand, and replies, "I need someone to chum me to town. Wanna come?" She grins easily, and Smith can't help but grin back.

 

"Sure."

 

\------

 

"Hey, Smith?" 

 

"Hmm?" Smith studies the map that he pulled out of the glove box, not really paying attention as Mere drives along the back road to the main one.

 

"Smith."

 

"Yes? What?" Smith looks up, and sees Mere staring at him with an eyebrow raised.

 

She sighs and looks back to the road. "I need to talk to you about something."

 

Smith begins to feel dread in his bones, but only nods. "Okay. What's up?"

 

"What was that whole business with the letter?"

 

Smith freezes. 

 

"I mean it. Ever since you got that letter you've been acting real strange. Like you're trying to cut yourself off or something. Ross is freaking out over it." Mere looks at him pointedly in between sentences, and Smith avoids looking at her when she does.

 

Mere sighs. "Don't tell Ross I told you this, 'kay?" 

 

Smith nods and motions for her to continue. "He likes you. A lot. He would do anything for you. It's how he's wired, being a werewolf and all that. And, I've seen the way you look at him too, and it's obviously not one sided, that much I can tell. And this whole business? With the letter? Has him crazy worried over you. Like, seriously. The only other person I've seen him like this with, is me. Can you see where I'm going with this?" She gives him a look, and Smith has to look away.

 

Mere goes back to road, and blurts "Shit!", causing Smith to look up as all the air in him whooshes out, as the car hits the fallen tree across the road.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i am a horrible person >:D


	11. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The crash, and the aftermath
> 
> \------
> 
> triggers: a lil bit o blood, kidnapping, and a shit ton of angst

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aren't i a lovely human bean
> 
> also i totally thought i already posted this here lol

Smith's head feels like its splitting, his whole body is throbbing, but his first thought is _Make sure Mere is okay_.

 

He groans, and moves his head slightly, looking at the drivers side for Mere. But she isn't there.

 

"Mere?" He croaks, then coughs as he begins to prop himself up carefully, looking for her.

 

"Mere? Where are you?" He coughs again, and looks around. His leg is trapped under the dash, and he groans through his teeth as he tries pulling it free. He lets out a gasp when it does, pain zapping through him quickly making him wince.

 

Smith pushes the crushed door feebly, and he realises that it wasn't going to move. It's then that he begins to hear other voices, and he carefully prods at the smashed windshield.

 

He sees men in what looks like SWAT uniform and paramedics pulling Mere onto a stretcher, sees the logo on the side of the van they begin to put her in, and cold washes over him.

 

"Hey! What are you doing?" He yells and begins to pull himself through the windshield, not caring about the glass or his leg or the fact that his head was still spinning and his breathing was all shot to hell. The strange men jump when Smith calls out, but Mere is already locked away in the van, and they begin to jump into their vehicles.

 

"Wait! Stop! No! Mere!" Smith yells after them as they drive away and he begins to chase them as best as he can. He falls to his knees when they get too far away, and he shivers.

 

"I lost her."

 

It begins to rain.

 

(its okay. you couldn't do anything.)

 

"I should of though." He shivers again, hugging himself tight.

 

"Oh, god. What am I gonna tell Ross?" He whispers in horror. Ross will never forgive him.

 

(he'll understand. you saw what was written on the van, right?)

 

Smith nods, and coughs and spits blood.

 

(then we have somewhere to start.)

 

Smith huffs a laugh. "I guess."

 

His vision begins to blur, and he's _crying_ , he didn't even realise. He takes a shaky breath, and another, before he stands carefully and wipes his eyes.

 

He turns down the road back to the hamlet (home. its home, now) and begins to walk. It would take him a while, he thinks, but he tries to focus on putting one foot in front of the other.

 

He had to.

 

\------

 

Ross glances at his watch. Then at the clock on the wall. Then at his phone. Then back to his watch.

 

"For god's sake Ross! They're just going to town, they're fine!" Trott snaps, and the werewolf pouts at him as he glances out of the living room window.

 

Trott sighs. "Sorry. That was harsh."

 

"S'alright. I'm… just a worrier, as Mere says." Ross looks down at his hands in his lap.

 

"No shit." Trott laughs, before shaking his head and going back to his book.

 

A couple of hours later and Mere and Smith still weren't back. Trott was beginning to get antsy as well by this point.

 

"They should be back by now, right?" Ross asks, his leg jiggling as he looks out of the window into the pouring rain.

 

"Yes." Trott answers tight lipped.

 

"Shit." Ross breathes out, running his hands through his hair for the fifteenth time.

 

They sit in silence for a minute, the only sound the rain hitting the roof, and the random noises the boiler made beneath them.

 

"I'm gonna call Mere's cell, make sure she's okay." Ross stands abruptly, heading to the house phone in the hallway before even finishing his sentence.

 

He picks up the phone when the door opens, and Ross looks up to see Smith, limping, his breathing ragged, blood on his face.

 

"Ross." Smith says when his legs give out under him and Ross rushes forward to catch him before he hits the ground.

 

Ross carefully scoops the fire demon up in his arms before bringing him through into the lounge. Trott curses and calls for Katie as Ross sets Smith down onto the sofa, shushing him when he whimpers in pain.

 

"Smith. What happened? Where's Mere? Is she okay?" Ross babbles until Trott clips him in the back of the head and giving him a look.

 

Katie comes into the room and gasps at the sight of Smith. "Oh, Smith. Ross, give him some room, and get the first aid kit. _Now_." She tells him, before helping Smith to sit up.

 

"Kay. Okay." Ross says before dashing out of the room, his brain spinning with so many questions. He grabs the first aid kit and goes back downstairs, where Trott was checking Smith over while Katie kept him calm.

 

Ross sets the kit down next to Trott, and decides him being there will probably hinder more than help. He slips out quietly, shutting the door behind him and going to the kitchen.

 

"Shit." He curses and sinks into one of the kitchen chairs as his mind runs through hundreds of questions. Where was Mere? Why did Smith come alone? What had happened? Was Mere alright? Was she alive?

 

He takes a deep breath, and wills himself to calm down. The last thing the others need to deal with is him panicking himself into a Change. Again.

 

So he sits, and waits.

 

\------

 

Smith's first thought when he wakes is of Ross.

 

Then it's wondering whether or not he was still actually _alive_.

 

He opens his eyes slowly, and sees he's lying in his bed, rain battering the windows. His whole body aches, and he feels light headed. He groans slightly, and tries rolling over, but a hand stops him.

 

"You're gonna hurt yourself doing that, mate." is Ross' quiet utterance. Smith cranes his head to look at Ross.

 

"Water?" Smith asks, his throat dry and his head throbbing. Ross nods, almost to himself, before picking up the glass and helping Smith to sit up and take a drink. Smith notices the werewolf's hands were shaking.

 

"Ross? What happened?" the fire demon asks, placing a careful hand against his side as it stings slightly with moving.

 

"Well, we were hoping you could tell us that." Ross sighs and sets the glass down. He runs a hand through his already messy hair, and Smith realises how _tired_ he looked.

 

"We found the car. Or, what was left of it, anyway." Ross blurts, watching Smith with a strange look on his face. "Mere…she wasn't there." He swallows, and Smith feels dread. "We didn't know anything until you turned up half dead on the doorstep." Ross looks away, and frowns slightly.

 

He looks up again with that same strange look, almost accusing. "What happened, Smith? Where's Mere? What happened to her?" He asks, watching him with a hard stare.

 

Smith swallows, and he begins twisting his hands. "Um. Well, Mere and I were talking about something, and there was a fallen tree. Neither of us saw it, and we…we hit it." Smith swallows again, his eyes unfocusing as he tries desperately to remember what happened. "When I woke up, um, there…there were these guys. Um. They looked like SWAT guys, and paramedics too. They were carrying Mere away on a stretcher. I called out to them, managed to pull myself free, but they legged it. Got back in their cars and drove away. With Mere." Smith finishes. He doesn't look at Ross, watches his hands instead.

 

"So she's gone then?" Ross says after a moment, and Smith stays quiet. Ross sighs and nods, before standing to leave. "I saw what was on the side of the van." Smith trails off weakly, and Ross stops.

 

"What was it?" He says, his voice with a hard edge to it that almost makes Smith flinch. "Um, it-it said-"

 

"Spit it out Smith." Ross snaps, and the look that he gives Smith makes him flinch.

 

"Janus Corp." Smith all but whispers. Ross nods, and leaves the room, fuming, and leaving Smith to curl up as carefully as he could on the bed.

 

(it's gonna be alright, Smith. he can't stay mad at you forever can he?)

 

"I should of done something." Smith mumbles, hiding his face in his arms.

 

(like what? what could you have done?)

 

"I don't know. Something, _anything_."

 

(you were hurt. you couldn't of done anything if you tried.)

 

"I should of gone after them. I should of done something."

 

(there was nothing you could _do_. you were injured, and what could you have done, even if you weren't injured? last i checked, our powers haven't exactly _helped_ people.)

 

"Shut up! Shut up! Get the fuck out of my head!" Smith snaps, grabbing his pillow and throwing at the shape in the corner of his eye. He's left alone.

 

And Smith cries, without a noise, as the rain becomes a storm.

 

 


	12. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Don't piss off a fire half demon
> 
> \------
> 
> triggers: burning, angst, suicide attempt implication

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this one turned dark real fast, so i put fluff in at the end to make up for it

"Will you just piss off, Jack?" Smith sighed. This twat was the last thing he needed right now.

 

"Hm. What if I don't want to?" The storm half demon leers at him, and Smith rolls his eyes and begins to walk away.

 

"No one cares about what you want Jack. Now piss off." 

 

"Oh!" Jack places a hand over his heart. "I'm very offended Smith! You wound me deeply with your words!" He mocks, his fake expression of pain turning into a wicked smirk.

 

Smith lets out a deep breath and continues walking to the main house.

 

"You care about what Ross thinks though, don't you, _Smith_." Jack grins as Smith clenches his fists and forces himself to keep walking.

 

"After all, you _were_ the one who _failed_ to save his only family." Jack says in a sing-song voice at Smith's back.

 

"Fuck. Off. Jack." Smith could feel the tell-tale warnings of him losing it and burning Jack to ashes. Jack keeps grinning, goading Smith into reacting. He opens his mouth to say something when a voice calls out for him. "Oi! Jack! Get your arse over here!"

 

While Jack was small and skinny, Harris was big and brutish. Towering almost an entire head over Smith, the sorcerer - if you could believe that - was _definitely_ someone you want on your side. Sadly, he wasn't _really_ on Smith's.

 

Smith turns and jogs up the remainder of the way to the house while Jack was distracted, and lets himself in quick. He takes a breath before stalking to the kitchen, making sure his hands don't catch anything on the way.

 

"Smith! Wait up!" 

 

"Not now Trott. Not in the mood." Smith growls, his fists clenching as he makes his way to the kitchen sink.

 

"What was that with Jack? Outside?" Trott scowls at Smith's back as he hops in on his crutches.

 

"Nothing, Trott." Smith stands trying to calm down, making sure there was no danger in causing the sink to melt.

 

"That was definitely not nothing Smith." Trott says in a low voice, almost threatening. "Now, tell me- ah!" 

 

Smith flinches away when Trott grabs his arm, the shaman falling backwards, cradling his burnt hand. Smith's face is an expression of horror when he sees Trott's hand, realises what he's done.

 

"Trott, oh my god, Trott, I'm so, so sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it-"

 

"What on earth?!" Katie comes in and rushes to Trott's side. Smith holds his hands close, not caring that he was probably burning himself.

 

"I-I-I-" Smith stutters, the words refusing to come out, and Katie cuts him off.

 

"What the fuck did you do?!" She glares at him, helping Trott to a chair while Smith shrinks into the corner. 

 

Jack comes in and takes stock of the situation. "What the fuck? You fucking freak, what did you do to Trott?!" Jack narrows his eyes at Smith, and Smith panics, feels it twisting in his gut, so he runs.

 

He bursts out of the back door and sets off running through the woods, his heart hammering.

 

\------

 

"What's happening? What's going on?" Ross comes in to shouting, mainly from Trott.

 

"Ross! Go after Smith. Now." Trott blurts, while Jack looks at him in shock. "What? No, leave that bastard, he hurt you!" Jack glares at Trott.

 

"What. Happened." Ross shuts them up before they start again.

 

"Jack was riling Smith up, so I went to see what was up, and when I grabbed his arm he burnt me by accident. Now go!" Trott grabs Ross and shoves him towards the door. Ross hesitates for a second, glancing back at Trott.

 

"Go, Katie's got me, go!"

 

\------

 

Smith falls to his knees, chest heaving, his skin turning red from burns. "Oh, fuck." He sobs, _I did it again, I did it again_.

 

(smith. calm down, take a deep breath. you need to calm down, or you're gonna end up burning the forest down)

 

"Oh, thanks for that." Smith says, taking gasping breaths, his body shuddering.

 

(you're welcome. now, deep breaths, come on)

 

Smith nods, inhaling through his nose and exhaling through his mouth, coming out far shakier than he intended.

 

(there you go. come on, you can do it)

 

Smith pulls himself to his feet and starts to run again.

 

(what are you doing? smith, where are you going?)

 

He keeps going, ignoring everything.

 

(smith. what are you going to do. smith! SMITH)

 

Smith lets out a shaky breath as he slows, watching the rain - when did it start raining? - bounce as it hit the lake.

 

(NO)

 

He heaves another breath, and another.

 

(SMITH NO)

 

A pathetic sob leaves his lips, _I can't do this_.

 

"Smith!"

 

He jumps and spins around when Ross crashes into him. They tumble onto the ground and Smith's breath leaves him in a _whoosh_ , leaving him coughing and spluttering.

 

"Smith." Ross leans over him, worry written clean across his face.

 

Smith props himself up, causing the werewolf to pull back a little. "Ross? What are you…" Smith frowns, and he belatedly realises that his hands have cooled down.

 

"What do you think you're doing Smith?" Ross says, struggling to keep his voice calm. Smith blanches and looks over his shoulder at the water. "I-I…I." and he can't.

 

All his tears spill out of him in a rush, and, for a moment, Ross is surprised. The werewolf shakes himself and pulls Smith close, holding him while he cries himself out, the storm over their heads pouring onto them.

 

\------

 

What feels like hours later, Ross and Smith stumble in the back door of the house. Wet and tired and cold, Smith is practically burrowed into Ross' side. "You got him." Trott breathes out in a relieved sigh, inviting them to sit.

 

Katie turns the kettle on and goes to grab blankets and towels for the sorry looking pair. "Hey, are you guys-?" Ross cuts him off with a quick shake of his head, tugging Smith closer. The half demon closes his eyes and rests his head on Ross' shoulder, breathing out steadily.

 

Trott mouths 'he okay?' at Ross, and he nods before mouthing back 'exhausted'. Trott nods, almost to himself.

 

Katie comes back in with the blankets and smiles when she sees Smith curled up. Ross sees her and nudges Smith carefully, the half demon blinking and sitting up properly.

 

"D'you guys wanna go in the living room?" She says in a hushed tone, frowning slightly with worry. Ross glances at Smith and he nods, carefully tugging Smith up to stand. Katie leads the way into the living room and Trott grabs his crutches carefully and follows as Ross and Smith sit down. The werewolf pulls Smith more firmly into his side and he goes with it, curling up close. 

 

Trott sits in the armchair as Katie passes Ross the blankets, and he tucks it around them. Trott can't help but feel a little sad for Smith, and he wonders how many times has this happened. Katie comes back with mugs of tea and sets them on the coffee table, Trott and Ross giving her little nods of gratitude as she hands theirs to them. She leaves Smith's on the table, noting how tired he looked.

 

They sit quietly, as the storm carries on in the background.

 


	13. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another letter, and a plan.
> 
> \------
> 
> no warnings for this chapter!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it has been brought to my attention that this chapter is maybe a lil bit confusing? i think i cleared it up in the next chapter, but if no, shoot me a message through my tumblr (during october its rori-werewolf, the rest of the time its rori-wolf)
> 
> peace! xx

Another letter. Smith was getting bloody well tired of them by now. It's been nearly a month since the car crash, and since he burned Trott by accident. He couldn't look at Trott for almost an entire week after that.

 

Smith leans against the kitchen table as he rips open the envelope, and tugs out the letter.

 

He frowns as he looks at the insignia at the top of the letter, trying to place it, before giving up and reading what was written instead.

 

He gives it a quick scan and sits up sharply, checking the back of the letter quickly in case there was anything else, before getting up to find Ross.

 

"Hey, Ross?"

 

"Hmm, yeah?" Ross glances up from his own pile of letters, and notices the look on Smith's face.

 

"What's wrong?" his tone suddenly serious, Ross sets his pile of letters beside him and comes to stand next to Smith.

 

The half demon hands him the letter, and Ross looks at him before reading the letter.

 

Dear Mr Smith,

 

Your friend Meredith Jameson has given birth to a little girl in the past week, but I am afraid that Meredith is not feeling all too well, and is expected to pass away in the next few days.

 

We just wanted to let you know, that you can do nothing to help her. Her daughter, who, by the way, is a full blooded werewolf, is and forever will be ours.

 

You will never be able to save mother or daughter, though, admittedly, it was very touching you trying to stop us in your state at the time.

 

Hope you are well

 

Signed, Mr Richard Janus

 

Ross takes a breath. And another. And another. "Son of a _bitch_." He curses under his breath, his hands shaking in rage.

 

"Ross I'-" 

 

"We're gonna get them back." Smith starts at the steel in Ross' voice.

 

"We are." Ross looks him in the eye, "Even if the others won't help us, we are going to."

 

Smith nods. "I'm not sure what use I would be. Last I checked, my powers weren't very helpful." Ross shakes his head.

 

"No, I need you." He says, and pulls Smith into a hug. Smith flinches slightly, before holding him back.

 

Ross tightens his grip for a second, holding him close, before pulling back. "We need to find their base first. Or at least where Mere and the baby is."

 

Smith nods. "I…I might know someone. Who could find out at least."

 

Ross looks at him in surprise. "How…"

 

"From the streets. I met some people." He flushes slightly, and Ross decides not to press him to elaborate.

 

"Alright. How would you contact them?" Ross asked as he checked the hallway for any listeners in.

 

"I have my ways." Smith smirks slightly at Ross' raised eyebrow. The werewolf raises his hands in mock surrender, grinning all the while.

 

"Well, I hope they're dependable." He jokes.

 

Smith smiles quietly to himself. "Oh, they are."

 

\------

 

"There it is." Smith hands a many times folded piece of paper to Ross, who raises an eyebrow. "Really? So soon?"

 

Smith nods and perches on the kitchen table. Funny how almost everything seemed to happen in here, he thought to himself.

 

Ross shakes his head and leans next to Smith as he unravels the slip of paper.

 

"When should we go?"

 

"Go where?" Both men jump as Trott hops into the room, Katie behind him.

 

Smith panics for a second and glances at Ross, who tries to stutter an answer. "Uhm. We, uh, we. Um."

 

"C'mon. Spit it out. And tell the truth, mind." Katie says sternly, arms crossed in front of her. 

 

For a comical moment, both werewolf and half demon look at each other at the same time before glancing back to the couple at the door.

 

"Well?" Trott taps his knee.

 

"Smith got a letter a couple of days ago." Ross starts, and Smith glances at him quickly, a frown gracing his features. "It was from the guys that took Mere. It said that she had given birth and that she was about to die, and they were gonna keep the baby who is a full blood werewolf. So, Smith and I are gonna go get them back."

 

Trott and Katie just stand for a moment in surprise, while Smith hangs his head slightly in guilt. "Huh." Trott says, shaking his head slightly.

 

"Alright. When we going?" Katie stands up straight as Trott gives her a little smile. 

 

"What?" Ross stands up too, confusion writ plain across his face.

 

"We're coming too. Not gonna let you guys have all the fun." Katie says, beaming at them.

 

"So, when are we going?" Trott grins.

 


	14. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the rescue goes awry
> 
> \------
> 
> burning and major character death

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i am such a /bitch/. so, sorry not sorry. (also im not finished w/ this :>)
> 
> as before, i think ive cleared this up a lil. idk lol

Trott whistles. "Damn, that place is _huge_."

 

Ross nods, still a little awestruck himself.

 

"How on earth are we gonna find Mere?" Katie asks, eyes wide.

 

Smith remains silent.

 

They were stood on a little hill, hidden by the tree line, looking down into a valley, where a mass of buildings, only a floor high, sprawled beneath them. Ross begins to wonder whether or not they've given themselves an impossible challenge. He glances up at Smith to see him frowning and pale. Before he realises what he is doing, he reaches out and takes Smith's hand, giving it a gentle squeeze and a small smile. Smith returns it weakly, before looking back to the Janus Complex.

 

"Smith?" the half demon looks up at Katie. "Hmm? Yeah?"

 

"Your…friend. Did he find out where Mere is?" They all turn to look at Smith, and he swallows.

 

"Umm…" He looks away for a moment, lost in thought. Smith inclines his head slightly, and Ross frowns. It almost looked like he was hearing something they couldn't. He listens as well, but he only hears a whisper of wind.

 

Smith looks back over the complex, and points to a seemingly random building. "There. She's in there."

 

Ross frowns. "Are you sure?" He questions, and the half demon glances at him. He nods, "Yes. Yes, I'm sure."

 

"Well then," Trott shifts, clearing the tense atmosphere that seems to have settled around Ross and Smith. "let's get going, eh?"

 

\------

 

The plan they came up with _almost_ worked. _Almost_.

 

Ross, Smith and Katie all went down to the back entrance that Smith's friend had told them about. Ross had snapped the lock on the door after listening to make sure that no one was too close to hear it and investigate. After that, Smith and Katie went on ahead to find Mere, while Ross kept an eye out for them.

 

They both went as quickly as they dared to the room where Mere and the baby was and, once there, Katie muttered a spell to unlock the door. Once teary greetings were over from Mere, all four of them went back to Ross, Mere carrying her baby, Katie holding up Mere, and Smith in the back, making sure no one tried to sneak up on them.

 

At this point, everything went to shit.

 

"Hey!" A voice calls out, and Smith glances back to see a guard had just come around the corner, and was raising his gun to shoot.

 

"Shit. Run!" He hisses at the girls, and fire flits from his hand almost to fast to be seen, and the guard drops with a smell of charred flesh.

 

Mere and Katie were running as fast as they could, but all Smith could think was _not fast enough_.

 

He races to catch up with them, hearing more shouts from behind them. They turn the last corner and Ross is standing there at the door, a shadow across his face. When he sees them Ross darts forward and scoops Mere up in his arms and bursts through the doors, Katie close behind them. Smith glances back and more fire leaps from his hands, hitting two or three more guards.

 

He turns and begins to run full pelt towards the doors, and he can see Ross dashing down to get to him, and he makes a decision.

 

Ross is almost at the doors but Smith gets there first and slams them shut. "Smith!" Ross cries, and tries to push the doors.

 

"Ross! Stop! Take Mere and the others. Get away! Please!" Smith yells at him and he glances over his shoulder, seeing more guards coming his way. "I'll hold them, just go!"

 

The half demon sees him hesitate, but Ross goes. Then rough hands grab his arms and twist them up his back, holding him tight and he struggles not to cry out. "Get off me! Stupid fuckers!" His arms get further wrenched up and he cuts off a hiss.

 

He lets his arms heat up and the guards holding him let him go quick, cursing and swearing as he burns them. He turns to face them, back to the door, his brain flailing. A guard hits him with the butt of his gun, making Smith step back, and he cools down. 

 

He feels hands grabbing him and taking him further into the complex, and he tries to wrestle away from the guards, but their grips just get tighter. He tried to make sense of where they were going but too quickly he finds himself lost.

 

They enter a room and throw Smith to the floor, and he stays on his hands and knees, listening. Eventually, he looks up.

 

A man, with a shock of silver grey hair is leaning against a control panel it looks like, with a bank of tv screens showing various angles of the complex. _This must be the centre. And he must be the boss_.

 

"You and your friends have made quite a mess, Mr. Smith. And that, is not at _all_ appreciated." Janus said, his face stoic. Janus makes a gesture and Smith gets pulled to his feet, struggling to keep a blank face.

 

"But, I must admit, I am glad you stayed behind voluntarily, as trying to catch _you_ would of been much more difficult than Miss. Jameson." Janus checks his phone, the perfect picture of uncaring as Smith frowns. " _What_?"

 

Janus smirks, "Don't you remember the letter, Mr. Smith?" Smith goes pale. They only decided to go look after Mere after that bloody letter. _Shit._

 

" _Someone_ , has asked us to fetch you for him. He said he didn't trust you to return on your lonesome, and John wanted to make sure you got back in time for dinner." Janus watched him, a grin spreading across his face when Smith blanches at the name.

 

"No." He whispers, and Janus grins wider.

 

" _Yes_." He stands straight, and his phone beeps.

 

"Hmph. John is going to be here very soon, Alex. I do hope you're ready to see him, because I _know_ he's ready to see _you_."

 

Smith could feel the panic inside him rising, but he could also feel _rage_. A rage that he wasn't quite sure was his own.

 

His hands begin to heat up, and he feels it spreading up his arms. He lets the fire rise up inside him, feels it licking across his palms and up. The air around him begins to boil at an alarming rate, the guards and Janus watching him with something akin to _fear_. The fire travels up, burning his clothes away and he lets it, the fire spilling out of him and leaping onto the floor, the walls the guards closest to him as he watches Janus with eyes steadily going red.

 

(smith, wait. you won't survive this, you've got to stop)

 

A guard begins to scream as smoke spills out from every gap in his uniform.

 

(you won't survive, smith)

 

"I know, Adan. I know." Smith whispers, and he lets the fire go.

 

\------

 

"Ross! Go! We've got her, go!" Trott yells at Ross and the werewolf darts back down the hill to the doors.

 

"It's alright Mere, we've got you." Trott wraps an arm around her as Katie carefully tugs Mere's baby out of her arms.

 

"Trott. What's wrong with me? What did they do?" Mere looks at him, eyes wide and scared. "Hang on, I'm just checking." He closes his eyes and places his hand on her forehead, focusing his energy into finding what was wrong and fixing it.

 

"Ross? Where-" Katie frowns, worry plain across her face.

 

"They got to him. Before I did. He told me to go, that we need to go now." Ross glances over at Trott and Mere.

 

Trott opens his eyes and watches Ross. "We need to get Mere home. _Now_." 

 

The werewolf holds Mere up as Trott grabs his crutches. "My baby, where-" Mere begins, before Katie goes over and presses the baby into her arms. 

 

"We ready?" Ross asks and the couple nod.

 

"Lets-" A shot rings out and Mere lets out a gasp. Her eyes go wide in shock, and Ross smells blood.

 

"Ross…" She slumps in his arms and Ross sets her down carefully, almost as if she was a child.

 

"Shit. Shit shit shit _shit_ , no, Mere _no_." Ross' eyes are wide too, disbelieving. He couldn't lose her, not like this.

 

Trott is close, and he presses his hand against Mere's back, looking for the bullet wound. When he finds it he closes his eyes for a moment, then pulls back. Mere makes little gasping breaths, and Ross looks pleadingly at Trott, and he starts begging him to save her but Trott is shaking his head, he can't do anything. Mere's baby is crying, and Ross doesn't realise as Mere slumps in his arms and the light in her eyes is gone. She's gone.

 

"No." Ross whispers, shaking his head, tears welling in his eyes. " _No_."

 

Katie stands behind him, Trott is sitting beside him, and Trott shuts Mere's eyes. And in that split second, the complex explodes into flame, bringing the trio's attention forward.

 

"Oh, god." Katie's legs seem to fall from beneath her and she slumps on the other side of Ross, as they all watch in shock as the fire spreads too quickly for it to be any normal fire. She _feels_ something, pulsing just under the wind and she shudders, recognising dark magic.

 

And they can do nothing but mourn the deaths of their two friends, as the fire envelops everything before them.

 


	15. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> they begin to search, and Katie finds something that wasn't what she suspected at all
> 
> \------
> 
> death mention and mourning, i guess?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> spoilers for the last chapter obvs. if you cant deal with the warnings for that chapter at all, i've put a brief summary of chapter 13 at the end of this one

They watched the fire burn itself out.

 

Ross was still clinging to Mere's body, and Trott held the baby. Katie felt the weight of the world on her shoulders, as the rain started, dampening any lingering embers. She sighed and stood, clutching her coat tighter against the rain.

 

"I'm gonna look for Smith." She said, her voice sounding like she hadn't used it in months. Ross looked up at her and nodded. "I'll… I'll help."

 

He stood, holding Mere in his arms, and set her body down in the shade of a tree. Katie nodded and looked to Trott. "Will you be okay mister?" She asked, and Trott nodded. "Yeah, I'll be fine."

 

Ross came to stand next to her, and she looked up. _He looks like he's aged a hundred years_ , she thought. His eyes seemed too old and wise for his face, and he had a melancholic look to him. "Let's go." He said and began walking down the hill.

 

Katie nodded and followed him.

 

The rain began to spit more violently, threatening a storm.

 

When they reached the bottom, Katie actually looked at the remains, unbelieving that a huge complex once stood before her, before the fire. Before Smith burnt it to the ground.

 

She shook her head clear, and motioned that she was going to check the right side, and Ross nodded and turned in the other direction. Her heart ached for him, to lose Mere like he did. She knew that Mere was the only family he had left, and for her to be taken away like that…

 

Katie continued to walk, scanning the rubble and the ash. She followed the path that took them to where Mere was, and continued on. She didn't know how long it had been, and she looked up into the sky to see something other than the remains of the fire.

 

The rain beat down on her face, and she took a deep breath in. She took another, and looked back down. She scanned her surroundings, and her eye caught something out of place. She blinked and squinted. There was definitely something there.

 

 _Smith?_ she thought, _but that's impossible, there's no way he could of survived…_

 

Katie began to jog over, sidestepping the remains of doorways and skipping over bodies. For a second she thought she saw a figure, standing over the thing she saw, but she blinked and it was gone. She shook her head and entered a still standing doorway, the wood black and burnt.

 

And she saw him.

 

Her heart leapt into her throat as she recognised his almost red hair, but she froze when she saw what was on his back.

 

A ring with markings that she inherently recognised as dark magic written in dark ink across his right shoulder, almost a brand. She moved over and knelt behind him. She gently placed a hand on the brand and a flash, _a room, two circles on the ground, dark words, a demon, pain, so so much pain_ , of memory made her retract her hand so fast it was like she had been burnt.

 

Katie looked from her hand, to the brand, to Smith. "What happened to you?" She whispered. She pulled off her coat and covered the half demon with it. "Hang on."

 

Katie stood and searched for Ross, and spotting him began to wave madly. "Ross! He's alive! Come here! Quickly!" She yelled and she lowered her arms when she saw Ross sprinting over. She looked at Smith again. "I won't tell."

 

"I promise."

 

\------

 

Trott couldn't stop shaking his head. "It's just not possible." he kept muttering to himself, brows furrowed in confusion.

 

"Well," Ross said, sounding exhausted, "he's here, isn't he?" Ross looked to the front seat where Katie was driving, and Trott was frowning back at them. Mere's baby pawed at the collar of his coat, making tiny mewling noises. Ross sighed and closed his eyes. He was just _so tired_.

 

He thought he lost two people last night. But, in fact, he only lost one. Mere still hurt to remember, and his heart clenched when he remembered the promise he made. _I'm sorry Uncle Lucas. I didn't make it in time._

 

Smith breathed evenly, his head pillowed in Ross' lap. Ross tried to avoid thinking about where Mere was. The baby coughed slightly, and tried to burrow closer to him. Ross held her tighter, hoping against hope that he can keep at least the baby safe. Safer than her mother at least.

 

Ross looked up at Katie driving silently, not looking back at Smith once. He remembered the look on her face when she found Smith, the way she barely glanced at him. The strange look in her eyes now, whenever she had no choice but to look at him. Ross desperately wanted to ask her what happened, but he couldn't bring himself to.

 

So they carried on driving. Smith asleep, the baby making tiny noises, Trott muttering to himself, Katie stoic, and Ross trying desperately not to think about Mere in the boot, eyes closed, dead. Ross let out a breath he didn't realise he held in, and pulled Smith and the baby closer.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> brief summary of chapter 13:
> 
> Ross, Smith, Katie and Trott all go to Janus Corp facilities to try and get Mere and the baby back, but the plan goes awry. Smith stays behind to let the others get away, but Mere gets shot and dies. Smith gets taken to the main office where he meets Janus and finds out that the letter was bait to get him to the facility coz John had gotten tired of waiting to get him. Smith loses it and burns the entire place to the ground, thus seeming like he killed himself as well.


	16. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Smith hears the news
> 
> \------
> 
> grief, death mentions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so. um, hi. apologies for taking forever, i've not really been in a writing mood for a while. so, yeah. sorry. have a angsty chapter with a fluffy ending (coz i've put these guys through hell good lord)

Smith opens his eyes, and for a moment everything was burning.

 

He blinks and the fire was gone, and he was left staring at his bedroom ceiling.

 

He looks over beside himself to see Ross fast asleep, sitting in a chair but resting his head on his arms on the bed next to Smith. A flicker of something passes through him, and a soft smile rests on his face. He carefully links his little finger through Ross', and takes a deep breath. When he doesn't stir Smith relaxes, and lays there for a while, taking in the peace of the moment.

 

After a while, Smith isn't sure how long, Ross begins to stir and Smith goes to pull his hand away. Ross' hand tightens on his before he can though, and when Ross begins to sit up he doesn't let go, he gives Smith a smile.

 

"Hey you." He says, but Smith notices something in his eyes. A sadness, he notes.

 

"Hey." Smith's voice is rough with disuse, a colour of concern clouding his tone. "What's wrong? Is everything okay?"

 

Ross looks away from Smith, and Smith feels the worry and the dread tighten around his chest.

 

"Mere's dead." He whispers, and Smith's stomach drops.

 

"What?" He breathes. "No, no she can't, I saw you get away, she-she can't-"

 

"She got shot." Ross cuts off his babbling, and Smith stares at him with wide eyes. "The, the baby? Is the baby okay?" Smith asks timidly, and he realises he's trembling slightly.

 

"The baby's fine." Ross nods, and his hand squeezes Smith's.

 

They sit in silence for a couple of seconds as Smith processes.

 

"I'm sorry." Smith whispers. "I'm sorry Ross. This is my fault. I'm sorry." Smith pulls his hand away and looks away, missing Ross' startled gaze.

 

"No. No no no, don't you _dare_ say it's your fault. It was _never_ your fault. You understand? It is never your fault." Ross reaches for Smith's hands and Smith flinches away, but Ross doesn't hesitate and catches him anyway, holding him tight.

 

"It's never your fault. You got it? Never." Ross looks him in the eyes, and Smith sees all the pain in Ross'. The grief, the loss, the care, the _hope_. And Smith doesn't realise tears are falling until they are and he's wrapped up in a hug, and he holds on like Ross is a life raft keeping him afloat.

 

"Okay." He whispers, and clings tighter.

 

\------

 

A little while later, they decided to go downstairs. Ross felt a flicker of affection when Smith doesn't let go of his hand as they go down. They go to the living room, where Trott is reading and Katie is holding the baby, rocking her in her arms.

 

The couple look up when they enter, and Trott sets down his book and sits up straight. "Hey." is all he says, his eyes flicking to their joined hands. "Hey." Smith says, voice rough.

 

"How's the baby?" Ross asks, and Katie nods. "Baby's fine, perfectly healthy. Very active." Katie says this with a small smile, as she hands her to Ross. Smith hangs back a little, smiling softly at Ross as he struggles to hold the baby as she squirms.

 

"Too right she's active." Ross remarks, grinning. He nods at Smith to come over, and he goes, peering over the werewolf's shoulder at the little one. "Has she got a name yet?" Smith asks.

 

"Nope, not yet." Trott says, watching them both as Katie goes to sit next to him. "We can't think of one." Katie adds.

 

Ross seems to be lost in thought when Smith looks at him, and only glances up when he nudges him carefully. "You okay?" Smith asks him, and Ross nods. "Mhm. Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking."

 

Silence falls, exhaustion weighing heavy on them all, when Smith pipes up. "What about Merry? For the baby?"

 

Trott and Katie stay quiet, looking to Ross as the werwolf looks from Smith to the baby and back again. Slowly, he begins to nod.

 

He smiles and looks to the baby. "Hello Merry." Ross whispers, and Merry gives him a gummy smile.


	17. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A peaceful afternoon
> 
> \------
> 
> mentions of past child neglect

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I need to work on getting these out better. have some fluff, coz god knows i've put these bams through hell lol

Ross wanders around the house, taking in the relative calm about the place. Its been a couple of weeks since they buried Mere, and sometimes thinking of her hurts, but he's moving on. Slowly.

 

He hears Katie and Trott having a whispered conversation and moves on quickly, not wanting to eavesdrop. He catches Smith’s name as he passes, but ignores it and carries on. _Probably nothing,_ he thinks.

 

He sees Zoey and Fiona sitting and chatting with Rythian on the porch as he passes the window, discussing the ladies’ new home that was currently still under construction. Zoey and Fiona were sleeping at the main house though until it was, and more often than not Rythian turned up to talk to the pair. It was common knowledge he had a small crush on Zoey, but he kept out of the way and nothing more was said.

 

Ross begins to make his way to the kitchen where he can hear Smith humming with Merry. As he goes he tries to figure out what he was humming, but gives up as he pokes his head around the door. The afternoon sun is spilling through the windows, filling the kitchen with a warm feeling. The light catches the red in Smith’s hair, making it shine like fire, and Merry is giggling and making little baby bird noises as Smith swoops her gently in the air.

 

Ross doesn't realise he's staring at the way the sun makes Smith's eyes look so much brighter till Smith looks up at him and smiles shyly. "Hey. Um, I, uh, I didn't see you. There. Um." Smith stutters out slightly, and the werewolf just grins and leans against the door frame.

 

"Don't worry Smith, you're not in trouble. I just wanted to see what you were doing." Ross says, settling against the door frame better.

 

"Well, you found us!" The fire demon laughs, and Merry makes grabby hands at Ross, nearly making Smith drop her due to her squirming. "Well, uh, I think she wants you." Smith shrugs slightly as he hands her to Ross.

 

Ross huffs a little laugh, and sets Merry so she has her arms around his neck.

 

"Hello, little one. Behaving for Smith?" He says and Mere babbles at him, and Ross chuckles. He looks up at Smith to see him standing almost awkwardly, giving him a fond look.

 

"How are you so good with babies? Like, seriously?" Ross blurts, and sees Smith's gaze go distant.

 

"When I was a kid, my mum and my stepdad had a baby. And, more often than not, he would force me to look after her, dragging my mum out with him so I didn't have much choice. She was only three when I left…" Smith's gaze turns sad for a second, before he shakes his head and looks up.

 

"What was her name?" Ross asks, bouncing Merry carefully.

 

"Elise." Smith answers, and Ross takes his hand in his own. "I'm sure she would be proud of her big brother." he says, and the half demon smiles.

 

"I hope so." Is all he says, squeezing Ross' hand.

 

They stand like that for a moment, before Ross looks up and gives Smith a bright smile.

 

"Tea?" he asks, and Smith grins back.

 

Smith nods and Ross hands Merry back to him, and as Ross makes his way to the other side of the kitchen, he looks back and sees Smith giving Merry an increasingly fond look. He wonders to himself if Smith sees Elise when he looks at Merry. He shakes his head to clear his thoughts and makes the tea.


	18. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Katie asks for an explanation
> 
> \------
> 
> mentions of past child abuse and past child neglect

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> jeeeez. I bet everyone is thinking 'fuckin finally!' *laughs* oops. I didnt really feel like writing for a while, and then christmas and new years and deadlines kinda happened. so yeah. biggest freakin apology for not posting for ages god damn. I need someone to yell at me to remember to write I swear. anyway, chapter! later x

Smith looked up from Merry in his arms, fast asleep, out of the window into the rain. A flash of movement in the trees caught his attention, and he squints slightly.

He sighs and shakes his head when nothing appears. (you're a little bit paranoid there aren't you?)

“I've good reason to be.” He mutters.

(why? everything's fine, great actually. so why are you paranoid?)

Smith hears footsteps behind him and turns to see Katie standing behind him, a couple of paces away. “What's wrong?” He asks nonchantly, but they both know what's wrong.

“I've not told anyone. I kept your secret for you, so you might want to tell me what that _thing_ on your back is.” Her voice is low with menace, and Smith sees that she is deathly serious. There's no way of worming out of this one. He glances behind her to see if anyone else was within earshot, when Katie speaks. “Ross has taken Trott to the hospital to get his cast taken off. Zoey and Fiona are at their house finishing it up with Rythian. No one is in, except for me, and you.”

Smith swallows, his eyes going distant before nodding slowly. “Okay. You deserve to know.”

Katie straightens and crosses her arms.

(smith what the fuck are you doing! you can't tell her! stop!)

“My stepdad...was an asshole. _Is_. He...summoned a powerful fire demon. Forced my mum too... well. Y'know. Anyway, after I was born, he started to focus on his...research, I guess you could call it. He...beat me up. A lot. And if my mum tried to protect me, he would hit her instead. Fucking hell, I hated it there.” Smith's eyes go distant for a moment, pain and grief cast in them. He shakes his head clear and looks at Merry, avoiding Katie's gaze.

“A week before my twelfth birthday, he locked me in the basement with no food and barely enough water. I remember hearing my mum trying to stop him, yelling and screaming at him while my baby sister cried. It was when she stopped making any sound at all was what terrified me the most. On my birthday, he came down with his grimoire. He didn't even look at me, just started drawing circles in red chalk and writing strange runes around them, just looking at those runes gave me a headache. When he had finished, he began taking things from upstairs and placing them on his altar. Candless, bowls of some kind of powder, bones, that kind of stuff. The last thing he brought down was a cup of something. I...I didn't want to look too closely. Then he grabbed my arm and dragged me to one of the circles and dumped me in it. I was so scared.” He takes a shaky breath and Katie seems frozen in place when he glances up carefully.

“He started chanting something. Whatever he said felt... _wrong_. I don't know what language it was but it felt _wrong_. Then I saw a flicker of something in one of the other circles, I...I wasn't sure what it was. Back then. Then there was this, pain, it was indescribable. I can't remember if I screamed or not. It was so bad I blacked out. When I came to, it was dark. John had disappeared. It was night outside. And...” He pauses, and Merry shifts in his arms. “And I wasn't alone.”

“What did he do?” Katie asks quietly, her voice steady.

Smith looks up then and sees the shock in her eyes. He swallows past the lump in his throat and carries on.

“John had bound my soul with one of my father's demon sons. One of my half brothers. A lesser demon than my father, but a demon none the less. We're bound together, until the day I die. We, die.”

“Does he have a name?” Katie asks, eyes wide.

Smith nods. “His name's Adan. It's not his true name, demon's never give their true names. I guess it's the 'human' version.” She nods, almost to herself as Smith explains.

“Is Adan here? Right now?” She looks about the room, almost as if looking for Adan.

“Yes, he's here, but he's hidden behind the Veil, partially. I sometimes get glimpses of him, in the corner of my eye. But when he speaks, I hear him clear as a bell.” He half smiles sadly, and he can sense Adan's presence behind him, placing his hand on his shoulder. (it's okay, little brother. it's okay)

“What your stepdad did...it's incredibly dark magic. It's amazing you survived that spell. I remember the other witches in my mother's coven telling me about this kind of stuff, and they told me that very rarely does anyone survive. More often than not, the demon kills everyone because the binding spell fails. Only a very exceptional person survives a binding spell like that. Maybe its because of the kind of abuse you suffered toughened you up. Maybe it's just in your blood. Who knows!” Katie looks up at him with imploring eyes.

“You're special Smith. Even if you think you aren't, you are.”

 

\------

 

“How's it feel to not have a cast mate?” Ross throws a grin at Trott as he's driving. “Two eyes on the road Ross, rather not have to go back to get another cast.” Trott smirks and stretches his newly freed leg.

“Feels amazing to be honest. Can't wait to actually walk around home without those bloody crutches.” The werewolf laughs and shakes his head, before turning into the side road that lead to home. A flash of movement in the trees catches his attention and he stops on the empty road to look carefully.

“Ross?” Trott frowns and looks outside the car at the foliage.

“Did you see that?” Ross' voice went low and quiet, and Trott glances back at him.

“See what?” Ross shakes his head slowly, before looking back to the road and continuing up.

“Probably nothing. Nevermind” Trott frowns at his friend before looking behind them at the place Ross was staring. Seeing nothing, he sits back properly in his seat. The sight of the big house chases away the strange moment that had happened, and he grins, thinking of Katie's reaction when she sees him.

 


End file.
